KAC-LA and AAAJ-LA Statement Calling for Continued Vigilance in Distribution of Sample Ballots

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
CONTACT
Joon Y. Bang
(213) 365-5999
joon@kacla.org
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Randy Bunnao
(213) 241-0227
rbunnao@advancingjustice-la.org

KOREAN AMERICAN COALITION-LA AND ADVANCING JUSTICE-LA CALL FOR CONTINUED VIGILANCE IN DISTRIBUTION OF SAMPLE BALLOTS

LOS ANGELES - On June 6, 2017, Angelenos in the 34th Congressional District will determine who will fill the seat left vacant by Xavier Becerra, now California's attorney general. This election comes after the primary election on April 4 was marred by an error that left an undetermined number of Korean-speaking voters with inaccurate sample ballots. The Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters (ROV) is currently in the process of determining whether the procedural mistake was caused by one worker failing to follow set procedures or whether additional procedural errors occurred. Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) and Korean American Coalition - Los Angeles (KAC) support these efforts to prevent a similar error from happening in the future.

"In June, voters will decide who will represent a large portion of Los Angeles in Congress," said Joon Bang, Executive Director of Korean American Coalition - Los Angeles. "It is imperative that the extent of the error be determined and that safeguards be adopted before the next election." The 34th Congressional District includes Koreatown, Boyle Heights, Chinatown, and downtown L.A.

As a county with one of the most diverse electorates in the country, voters in Los Angeles are provided sample ballots in English and 9 other languages. The error that occurred in the primary election could have affected any language. In the future, the City of Los Angeles will consolidate its elections with the County, adding more than 1.5 million voters to the ROV's responsibility.
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"We are encouraged that the ROV is conducting a thorough analysis of the sample ballot error," says Deanna Kitamura, Voting Rights Project Director at Advancing Justice-LA. "We continue to engage with the ROV to discuss safeguards and will suggest additional ones where warranted once the report is released."

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Educate | Embrace | Empower
Korean American Coalition-Los Angeles (KAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1983 to promote the civic and civil rights interests of the Korean American community. KAC endeavors to achieve these goals through education, community organization, leadership development, and coalition-building with diverse communities.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NHPI). Through direct services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, leadership development, and capacity building, Advancing Justice-LA focuses on the most vulnerable members of Asian American and NHPI communities while also building a strong voice for civil rights and social justice.